Sunday, December 12, 2010

[Belo Horizonte - known as Beagá or BH by the locals - is the third largest urban area in Brazil, after São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro; since as many as 30% of residents have some Italian heritage, the city is renowned by tourists for its Italianate feel. It's no coincidence I've selected a Brazilian city for special recognition today, as it's currently colder than Karl Rove's heart in Vancouver.]

1897 - Belo Horizonte, once a small village founded by bandeirante João Leite da Silva Ortiz, became Brazil's first planned city when ambitious plans by Aarão Reis and Francisco Bicalho to rebuild it along the lines of Washington, DC, came to fruition. Currently capital of the state of Minas Gerais - replacing the old colonial capital of Ouro Preto - this lively centre of commerce and the arts is home to some 5.5 million people.

1941 - Adolf Hitler announced his intention to exterminate Germany's Jews at a meeting in the Reich Chancellery attended by every prominent National Socialist in the country; a meeting - not unlike January 1942's Wannsee Conference (at which a similar intent was even more blatantly stated) - which neo-Nazis are fond of conveniently forgetting.

1979 - South Korean Army Major General Chun Doo-hwan staged a coup d'état when he ordered the arrest of Army Chief of Staff General Jeong Seung-hwa without authorization from President Choi Kyu-ha, alleging his involvement in the assassination of ex-President Park Chung Hee.

My Personality Type

What Kind Of Liberal Am I?

My Liberal Identity:

You are a Social Justice Crusader, also known as a rights activist. You believe in equality, fairness, and preventing neo-Confederate conservative troglodytes from rolling back fifty years of civil rights gains.